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GOP Congress members ask DEA for “briefing” on illegal cannabis farms.
Last week, Rep. Mark Green, chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, announced that he had sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to ask for “a briefing on the growing national security threat posed by illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms uncovered across the United States.”
It’s important to note that there is nothing conclusive with regard to whether these farms are part of a coordinated and, possibly, politically-motivated effort, as these lawmakers suggest, or just financially-motivated underground operators exploiting states with lax regulations, like Maine and Oklahoma.
Nonetheless, what’s noteworthy about the letter is that they are demanding a “briefing” from DEA and DHS “no later than January 25, 2024.”
Specifically, they write, the “briefing should include, but not be limited to, information about the actions your agencies are conducting to monitor, investigate, and dismantle illicit Chinese-operated marijuana farms, as well as information about the links these illegal farms have to transnational criminal organizations and foreign entities.”
Connecticut AG calls out Eventbrite for listing unlicensed cannabis event.
Attorney General William Tong filed an injunction against HighBazaar, an “unlicensed, illegal cannabis market,” which had a market scheduled to run yesterday. The AGs office announced that it was cancelled.
Tong also sent a notice to Eventbrite, the online ticketing platform, which HighBazaar “used to promote its markets.” The notice “warns that such posts violate Eventbrite’s own Community Guidelines and that the events they promoted also violate Connecticut law,” Tong’s office noted in an announcement.
Eventbrite’s guidelines, for example, “prohibits ‘posting events that promote the use or [sale] of cannabis,’ including ‘[c]annabis or cannabis-infused products (including CBD) provided for free, for sale by the Organizer, or as part of the ticket purchase (including free samples, infused food/beverage, gift bags, product discounts, and giveaways), attendee sharing of cannabis, teaching how to grow or extract cannabis (including infused cooking classes), or dispensary tours.’ Further, ‘[t]his policy applies regardless of cannabis’ legality in a jurisdiction,'” the notice from Tong’s office reads.
“We request that Eventbrite immediately remove all content related to the use or sale of cannabis and
provide our Office with confirmation that it has been removed. In addition, we request that Eventbrite conduct its own internal review of additional posted events and organizers to prevent future violations of your Community Guidelines relating to the use or sale of cannabis,” the notice reads.
On Jan. 4, Tong issued cease and desist letters to the event’s organizers and the Masonic Temple Day Spring Lodge in Hamden, where the events occur.
Michigan regulators collaborate on CBD and veterans clinical trial.
Researchers at the University of Michigan are conducting a clinical trial that aims to “better understand if CBD can improve pain symptoms in Veterans with chronic pain.”
The study hypothesis is that “CBD would improve overall pain symptoms compared to placebo.” More than 450 veterans will be recruited for this study, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Participants will take either Epidiolex, the FDA-approved cannabis-derived CBD medication, or a placebo.
The Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is a collaborator.
